CT Green Scene

Regression in NYC's Recycling?

Here's just another example of how much we actually throw out. This article published in The New York Times on October 21st takes a close look at what nearby New York City is doing to recycle, especially when it comes to take-out containers. The landfills are littered with plastic domes and styrofoam clamshells. In fact, their recycling score card has dropped significantly. In 2001, the city had a recycling rate of 23%. It now has a paltry 15%.

When it really comes down to it, we could all do a little better. There's always room for improvement. See the excerpt below.

Lunch, Landfills and What I Tossed
By MIREYA NAVARRO
Published: October 21, 2011

As any befuddled, frustrated and guilt-ridden environmentally conscious New Yorker knows, takeout food and its containers — salad bar and deli clamshells; plastic cups and utensils; yogurt containers; fancy three-compartment bento boxes — are the bane of this city’s would-be recyclers.  They might reuse plastic shopping bags until they rip and religiously bundle every newspaper and magazine for recycling pickup, only to be undone by lunch.

 “There’s nothing I can do,” said Doug Richardson, 25, an accountant eating a chicken salad from a deep plastic bowl. “It annoys me. It’s plastic in a landfill.”
 
Environmental advocates call recycling the weak link in the city’s green agenda, even after legislation was passed last year to overhaul the 1989 recycling law that made New York a 20th-century leader, not a laggard.
 
How far behind is the city? A survey by the Natural Resources Defense Council this year found that more than two dozen large and medium-size cities in the United States recycle all kinds of plastic containers, while New York takes only bottles and jugs. Another study this year, sponsored by Siemens AG, the global electronics and electrical engineering company, ranked New York 16th among 27 cities in its handling of waste, though it was third in overall environmental performance.

By now, other cities require recyclable or compostable takeout containers and utensils at restaurants — and bins in which to dispose of them. Cutting-edge green cities, like San Francisco, offer curbside collection of food scraps and compostable items at homes, restaurants and offices. And dozens of places now charge residents for their trash by weight to promote recycling and keep refuse out of landfills.
 
New York, meanwhile, is going backward: it now recycles about 15 percent of the waste collected by the Sanitation Department, which is primarily from residences, down from a peak of 23 percent in 2001. And while city officials have said they are reviewing so-called “pay as you throw” systems, there is no indication that the city might adopt one.
 
“This issue is simply not getting the attention it deserves,” said Eric A. Goldstein, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York. “They’ve treated their recycling operation like the after-school clarinet program.”

To read more, click here.

Image courtesy of otobeygir.com.

Your trash: Where is it really going?

The Beauty of Aloe

by Dr. Amy Wiesner

Aloe has been used and documented for thousands of years. There are several references to it in the Bible. Cleopatra was said to have used it to enhance her beauty.
 
In China, aloe has been used for thousands of years for gastric discomfort. It is prescribed for parasites, constipation and digestive discomfort. Alexander the Great used it to treat his army’s wounds.

Todays modern research has defined why it has been so beneficial and such a permanent part of medicine throughout history.

Dr. Jeffrey Bland found that aloe decreased toxicity of the colon and normalized the bowel flora. It has also been found that aloe lowers gastric pH, which in turn prevents and in some cases cures, ulcers.  Overall, it has a stabilizing and anti-inflammatory effect on the entire digestive tract which is one of the reasons it’s touted for helping Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

Cow power

While I'm not above taking a crack at a good poop joke, this one speaks for itself. Vermont is toying with the idea of using cow manure for electricity. It's certainly not the first time that suggestion has been made. But it is the first time it has been deemed economically feasible. The State of Vermont recently conducted a study that showed the financial as well as the environmental benefits of using a manure-to-power process.

See the excerpt below from ENN.

Vermont Experiments in Cow Power
From: David A Gabel, ENN
Published October 17, 2011 10:25 AM

...The process of producing power from manure is relatively simple and straight forward. The average cow is capable of producing over 30 gallons of manure every day. For a large farm with say 1,000 cows, that means 30,000 gallons of manure per day, quite a hefty load! The manure is fed into an anaerobic digester where it stays for 21 days at 100 degrees F. Bacteria convert the waste into methane gas. As the gas builds within the digester, the pressure rises, and the gas is exhausted through piping to the modified natural gas engine. The engine powers the generator, producing electricity. Excess heat from the engine is used to keep the digester warm.

One cow's waste per day is sufficient to power 2 100-watt light bulbs per day. The energy is added to the grid and purchased from the CVPS electric system. For the study, 4,600 customers purchased this power, paying an additional $0.04 per kilowatt hour, or roughly $470,000 annually.

Then there is the leftover manure that comes out of the digester. It is processed through a mechanical separator, and the resulting product is an odorless solid waste. It can be used as bedding for the animals or even sold to the public as fertilizer...

To read more, click here.

Image courtesy of MadCow.net

Local Green in Ridgefield

1000 Friends of Connecticut Fall Speaker Series

Putting Connecticut Back on its Tracks!        
A Fall Speaker Series 
featuring Commissioner Dan Esty
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 

1000 Friends of Connecticut invites you to hear Commissioner Dan Esty, Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection, speak to our Smart Growth issues and help start a dialogue that will move Connecticut into a brighter future with thriving cities at the heart of strong regions!

Join us on October 27, 2011 from 6:30-8:00 PM at the City Trust Building at 955 Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Register for FREE on their web-site!

Nichole Strack, Executive Director
Putting Connecticut Back on its Tracks!

1000 Friends of Connecticut is hosting a Fall Speaker Series throughout the state and inviting Commissioners from key executive agencies to speak to issues surrounding land use decisions and sustainability. Join us to learn how state officials will make these decisions in the future and learn more about Connecticut's prospects of making real progress in areas including:

    •    Compact, walkable communities
    •    Revitalized Downtowns
    •    Enhanced Mass-Transit
    •    Smart-Energy Practices,
    •    and the Land-use Decisions that Support Them!

1000 Friends of Connecticut is a statewide organization whose mission is to promote and shape growth to ensure a prosperous economy, a healthy natural environment, and distinctive, integrated and attractive communities while promoting opportunities in education, housing, transportation, and employment for ourselves and future generations.

Hiring local? Not so fast

If you think hiring local is the answer to all our unemployment woes, you're not alone. Farmers across the nation are looking to hire. Not cheap immigrant workers, mind you, but local people who are unemployed and hoping to make ends meet. The problem is, nobody wants to do the manual labor even if they are out of work.

For years, we've lost valuable farm land to overdevelopment. Now, we have the opportunity to return to the land. But unfortunately, we're not.

See the excerpt below from The New York Times.

Hiring Locally for Farm Work Is No Cure-All
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: October 5, 2011

OLATHE, Colo. — How can there be a labor shortage when nearly one out of every 11 people in the nation are unemployed?

That’s the question John Harold asked himself last winter when he was trying to figure out how much help he would need to harvest the corn and onions on his 1,000-acre farm here in western Colorado.

The simple-sounding plan that resulted — hire more local people and fewer foreign workers — left Mr. Harold and others who took a similar path adrift in a predicament worthy of Kafka...

Healthy vending machines not a hit with the kiddies

With the push for a healthier and more nutritious school lunch, one thing still rings true: kids will eat crap when given the chance. In an effort by one regional school, vending machines with offerings like apples and hummus with veggies are being passed over in favor of potato chips. An article in The New York Times discusses how schools have been trying to make a difference in what kids eat during the day. But as the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Maybe the best option is to remove the machines that have the chips leaving no choice but a healthy one? Food for thought.

See the excerpt below.

Schools Dangle Carrot Snacks, but It’s a Tough Sale
By WINNIE HU
Published: October 3, 2011

COMMACK, N.Y. — The new vending machine sat unnoticed as students rushed past its baby carrots, yogurt smoothies and hummus to neighbors dispensing Snapple, Doritos, Goldfish and Cheez-It. The lunch period was nearly over before a potential customer stopped to check out its offerings.

No sale.

“This is way too healthy for a snack,” said John Achnitz, 15, a 10th grader. “Kids want healthy stuff like baked Doritos, but not an apple that they can get at home free.”

Like many schools across the nation, Commack High School on Long Island is stepping up its war on junk food this year. Its new cafeteria vending machine — a lighted panel on the front shows sliced apples and oranges against a backdrop of lettuce — is part of a pilot program intended to encourage students who skip lunch or stay late for sports to make better choices.

“By fostering healthy snack vending options, we support the lessons that are taught in the classroom and at home,” said Donald A. James, the superintendent of schools.
But so far, potato chips are winning.

Commack’s healthy machine sold 296 items totaling $388.75 from Sept. 1 to Sept. 19, less than one-third of the sales made by a nearby machine that offers less nutritious fare. Moreover, the top-selling item from the new machine was baked potato chips — less fat than fried chips, but less than ideal — with almost no takers for peach smoothies, roasted edamame or fresh pineapple chunks.

To read more, click here.

Image courtesy of The New York Times.

Documentary at Community Theatre in Fairfield

FAT SICK & NEARLY DEAD SCREENING +...
Thursday October 6th!
FREE & OPEN to the Public!!!!

EVENT SPONSORS = Tara Cook-Littman, Camillo Fitness, Heather Pierce Inc.,
CT Clean Energy Options, My Personal Wellness, more to be added!
**These sponsors will have information tables set up before the screening
    as well as sit on a panel that will discuss the movie after it's conclusion!!!!!!!!  

 DOORS OPEN AT 5:30pm -- Screening begins at 6:30pm  (98min)
followed by expert round table discussion and audience question an answer!
FREE RAFFLE TICKETS GIVEN OUT BETWEEN 5:30pm-6:00pm! 

@ COMMUNITY FILM INSTITUTE 1424 POST RD. FAIRFIELD
Four doors down from Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe
You can bring Cafe food & drink into the Theatre

Condoms on the Endangered Species List

Is that a spotted owl in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? In a September 26th post by the Environmental News Network (ENN), the Center for Biological Diversity has been passing out free condoms in all 50 states depicting the animals that have been affected by overpopulation. The global population will reach seven billion by October 31st this year and nine billion in the next 40 years. So what's the plan? Saving the snail darters and rock frogs one prophylactic at a time.

Read the excerpt below:

100,000 Endangered Species Condoms Shipped to 50 States Publicizing Link Between Overpopulation, Species Extinction
Published September 26, 2011 02:15 AM

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity this week began shipping out 100,000 Endangered Species Condoms to a network of 1,200 volunteer distributors in all 50 states. The free condoms will be given away as part of the Center’s 7 Billion and Counting campaign to highlight the world population reaching 7 billion in late October and the effects our overpopulation is having on imperiled plants and animals around the world.

“As the world population closes in on 7 billion, there’s never been a better time to talk about overpopulation and the species extinction crisis, and our Endangered Species Condoms are one of the best conversation starters out there,” said Amy Harwood, the Center’s overpopulation campaign coordinator. “Since we launched this project in 2010, we’ve heard from thousands of people that these simple but surprising packages drive the issue home in a funny, thought-provoking way.”

The condoms come in six different packages with original artwork and edgy slogans featuring the polar bear, jaguar, snail darter, spotted owl, coquí guajón rock frog and  American burying beetle (“Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle”). All six species are listed as threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To read more, click here.

Image courtesy of Center for Biological Diversity.